It is our great pleasure to welcome you to the International Urban Forestry Congress (IUFC) under the title ‘The Urban Forest – Diverse in Nature’, to be held in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada from September 30 – October 3, 2018.

The Congress is a unique partnership between Tree Canada's Canadian Urban Forest Conference (CUFC), the Pacific Northwest Chapter of the International Society of Arboriculture’s (PNW-ISA) Annual Training Conference and the Urban Tree Diversity Conference (UTD).

It is our goal to provide a forum for practicing arborists and urban foresters, green space planners and designers, policy makers, researchers and educators to share their unique insights into arboriculture and urban forestry. The power of diversity in urban forestry will be explored; diversity of trees and forests, diversity of people and communities, and diversities of management practices. By learning from one another’s’ knowledge and experiences, we will all be better able to shape the world’s urban forests. The event will highlight excellent international presenters, as well as talented experts from the Pacific Northwest coast region of North America. We are also looking forward to your contributions!

The Vancouver, BC region is home to some of the most productive and intact natural ecosystems on the planet. Our modern and multicultural cities border a great river, a living sea, towering mountains and lush rainforests. The congress venue, the Westin Bayshore hotel, lies nestled in the junction of busy downtown Vancouver and the beautiful and serene Stanley Park. A great place to visit, a great place to learn!

Thank you for planning to attend IUFC 2018, we look forward to seeing you in sunny Vancouver Canada.

The international urban forestry congress in Vancouver brings together three major networking events in arboriculture and urban forestry:

The Canadian Urban Forest Conference (CUFC) is a national conference that brings together leading experts from across Canada, allowing for dialogue between professionals, community groups and practitioners on innovative strategies, policies, technologies, research and best management practices related to arboriculture and urban forestry.

The Annual Training Conference of the PNW-ISA aims to foster a greater appreciation of trees and promote the professional practice of arboriculture and urban forestry through education, research, and technology. The PNW-ISA region is the largest ISA chapter geographically and includes Alaska, Idaho, Oregon, Washington, and British Columbia.

UTD Conference is an international event that addresses research on urban tree diversity and its crucial implications for urban foresters and society, in achieving resilient, vibrant and productive urban forests. The Vancouver congress will be the third UTD conference.

Keynote Speakers

Chris Baines

Independent Environmentalist, Writer and Broadcaster

Jeremy Barrell

Director of Barrell Tree Consultancy

John Gaithright

Founder of Tree Climbing® Japan

Susan D. Day

Associate Professor of Urban Forestry

Suzanne Simard

Professor of Forest Ecology

Ian Shears

Manager of Urban Sustainability Branch at the City of Melbourne

Joyce Murray

Member of Parliament for Vancouver Quadra

Kelsey Copes-Gerbitz

PhD student in the Department of Forest and Conservation Sciences at the UBC

Christian Messier

Professor of Forest Ecology and Urban Forestry

Lindsay K. Campbell

Research social scientist with the USDA Forest Service Northern Research Station